meant all along. Brilliant.” If you’ve got a good story, just bring it. Drop it off. Say, “This is awesome.” Then move on. We’re with you. We like awesome too.
COMPLETELY DISREGARDING ALL KNOWN COPYRIGHT LAWS
God help us all if we arrive in heaven and there’s a patent and trademark office. Seriously, we are screwed. Especially me.
Let’s be clear, the original idea for the Stuff _____ Like format came from Christian Lander, the talented author of the blog and book Stuff White People Like. Sometimes I like to pretend that I just sprinkled God flavoring on the idea like the creative think tank that turned Adidas into “Add Jesus.” And people will kindly tell me that I created an homage, but usually when I describe the humble origins of the Stuff Christians Like blog, I use the less French-sounding phrase, “I ripped off that idea for Jesus.”
MID-PRAYER MUSIC THAT MATERIALIZES OUT OF NOWHERE
A closing prayer at church that is not enrobed in some sort of soft musical accompaniment is like one of those hairless cats. Technically speaking, it’s still a closing prayer, but it seems naked and you want it to leave the room as quickly as possible.
The most important rule of a prayer duet is that you can’t start the song at the very same moment as the prayer. That would seem forced and fake, as if instead of praying, you were putting on Prayer, the Musical!
You have to start the music in the middle of the prayer, slowly and quietly, as if the musician playing wasn’t intending to play along with the prayer but was so inspired by it that he couldn’t help but pick up an instrument in response.
“That is a really beautiful closing prayer our pastor is saying and I’ve already got this acoustic guitar in my hand. Maybe I’ll just play a C chord. Just one, tiny note in response.”
But he can’t stop there, can he? It’s never just one note; it always trickles slowly into a song, and when it does, I’m left with lots of questions in the crowd.
Do they practice that beforehand? Does the minister say to the musician, “When you hear the word ‘freedom,’ that is your cue”? “Don’t miss it. I’m going to trust-fall this prayer back into your hands and I expect a musical blanket to catch it.”
Does the drummer ever get mad that he never gets tapped to do the prayer duet? No one ever says, “I need you to come in during the middle of the prayer with the kick drum. Just start beating that thing as loud as you can.” And it can’t be a harp either. Those things are like musical refrigerators. They’re impossible to hide. The minute the congregation sees one on stage they know “prayer song today.” There’s no surprising people with a harp.
Is it bad that the minute I hear that music starting I try to locate the musician? That’s horrible, right? I should be focusedon the prayer and God and worship, not trying to “Where’s Waldo” the prayer musician. But I can’t help it; they keep switching it up on me. Sometimes he’s sitting on stage where he’s been the whole time, and it’s like the words of the prayer awoke him from a deep slumber while the rest of the musicians stay frozen in time. On other Sundays a musician will slowly materialize in the shadows offstage and musically tiptoe their way to the center of the stage like a tag team wrestler coming to relieve his partner. Sometimes you can’t ever find them; they’re playing somewhere deep within the bowels of the church and their prayer song is floating into the sanctuary like the Phantom of the Opera. Which I usually just assume means they’re too ugly for big church. “Sure, go ahead and play for the youth group and children’s church, but for this prayer, during the main service, we really feel like this broom closet is going to offer you the best acoustics. So let’s just tuck you right in here. Someone will mic your instrument and knock on the door when it’s time to start playing.”
NOT KNOWING HOW TO HOLD
COMPLETELY DISREGARDING ALL KNOWN COPYRIGHT LAWS
God help us all if we arrive in heaven and there’s a patent and trademark office. Seriously, we are screwed. Especially me.
Let’s be clear, the original idea for the Stuff _____ Like format came from Christian Lander, the talented author of the blog and book Stuff White People Like. Sometimes I like to pretend that I just sprinkled God flavoring on the idea like the creative think tank that turned Adidas into “Add Jesus.” And people will kindly tell me that I created an homage, but usually when I describe the humble origins of the Stuff Christians Like blog, I use the less French-sounding phrase, “I ripped off that idea for Jesus.”
MID-PRAYER MUSIC THAT MATERIALIZES OUT OF NOWHERE
A closing prayer at church that is not enrobed in some sort of soft musical accompaniment is like one of those hairless cats. Technically speaking, it’s still a closing prayer, but it seems naked and you want it to leave the room as quickly as possible.
The most important rule of a prayer duet is that you can’t start the song at the very same moment as the prayer. That would seem forced and fake, as if instead of praying, you were putting on Prayer, the Musical!
You have to start the music in the middle of the prayer, slowly and quietly, as if the musician playing wasn’t intending to play along with the prayer but was so inspired by it that he couldn’t help but pick up an instrument in response.
“That is a really beautiful closing prayer our pastor is saying and I’ve already got this acoustic guitar in my hand. Maybe I’ll just play a C chord. Just one, tiny note in response.”
But he can’t stop there, can he? It’s never just one note; it always trickles slowly into a song, and when it does, I’m left with lots of questions in the crowd.
Do they practice that beforehand? Does the minister say to the musician, “When you hear the word ‘freedom,’ that is your cue”? “Don’t miss it. I’m going to trust-fall this prayer back into your hands and I expect a musical blanket to catch it.”
Does the drummer ever get mad that he never gets tapped to do the prayer duet? No one ever says, “I need you to come in during the middle of the prayer with the kick drum. Just start beating that thing as loud as you can.” And it can’t be a harp either. Those things are like musical refrigerators. They’re impossible to hide. The minute the congregation sees one on stage they know “prayer song today.” There’s no surprising people with a harp.
Is it bad that the minute I hear that music starting I try to locate the musician? That’s horrible, right? I should be focusedon the prayer and God and worship, not trying to “Where’s Waldo” the prayer musician. But I can’t help it; they keep switching it up on me. Sometimes he’s sitting on stage where he’s been the whole time, and it’s like the words of the prayer awoke him from a deep slumber while the rest of the musicians stay frozen in time. On other Sundays a musician will slowly materialize in the shadows offstage and musically tiptoe their way to the center of the stage like a tag team wrestler coming to relieve his partner. Sometimes you can’t ever find them; they’re playing somewhere deep within the bowels of the church and their prayer song is floating into the sanctuary like the Phantom of the Opera. Which I usually just assume means they’re too ugly for big church. “Sure, go ahead and play for the youth group and children’s church, but for this prayer, during the main service, we really feel like this broom closet is going to offer you the best acoustics. So let’s just tuck you right in here. Someone will mic your instrument and knock on the door when it’s time to start playing.”
NOT KNOWING HOW TO HOLD
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